Fields of Fuel

Most of the reviews of "Fuel" rave about Josh Tickell's entertaining presentation of solutions to our global addiction to gasoline and oil. Last night's screening couldn't have been much more serendipitous for the filmmaker. I mean, let's face it, 86 days into BP's rogue well catastrophe, and it was not surprising that Florida State's Student Life auditorium was packed with a diverse group of community residents and students. It was, after all, a free screening.

"Fuel" didn't offer any solutions that haven't already been publicly addressed in a variety of ways by a number of visionaries. Relying on the filmmaker's personal journey from an undergrad thesis project that escalated into a crusade, the film came across as a tad pedestrian. Tickell's experience with alternative fuel sources as a substitute for fossil fuels is indeed impressive. It would be difficult to criticize his passion, or his mission to encourage and nurture change.

BUT, "Fuel" was entirely too precious for me to rave like the other critics. Littered with proactive celebrities like Julia Roberts, Willie Nelson, Larry David, Cheryl Crow and many others, it occurred to me that "Fuel" was way too proud of itself, and way too involved with the idea of celebrity. For someone who is presumably an activist, I wondered about all of the air miles and fuel Tickell spent courting an Irish scientist in Cork, German engineers in Europe, etc. I thought about the air miles he used to attend celebrity-filled festivals.

After I viewed "Fuel" last evening I reread Henry Adams's "The Virgin and the Dynamo" and was reminded about the consuming nature of a contemporary society that has detached itself from the Aquinas-like faith of the middle ages. Adams penned his famous chapter after attending the Paris Exhibition at the turn of the last century. The internal combustion engine (a small dynamo) was featured at the exhibit. "Fuel" devotes a segment that addresses the 1900 event, and the historical context Tickell offers is particularly compelling. The Louisiana information was also edifying.

While "Fuel" had many successful segments, it could be edited and condensed into a more meaningful film that does not require nearly two hours of air conditioned airtime. It reminded me too much of one of those Sally Struther's "Feed the Children" TV campaigns.

At its recent Hollywood Premiere, the film "Fuel" brought the audience to its feet in the longest standing ovation of all its many ovations that it received at every film festival - including each of the 10 screenings at Sundance Film Festival.

This film shows the world what a small percentage of us have known for several years now: Biodiesel is available, works in any diesel vehicle, is made in America, and is better for the environment than petroleum fuels. It does not stop with biodiesel but instead, presents many sustainable energy solutions available right now for individual and planetary health, security and economic prosperity.

"Fuel" goes from Josh Tickell's time on a farm in Germany where he learned that diesel fuel can be made from vegetable and animal products, to his journey across America in the Veggie Van, to the widespread production of biodiesel from used fryer oil, to the present where new biodiesel is being made from algae and new food stocks and is available from ordinary pumps at filling stations.

The film answers the question on everyone's mind these days: Is biodiesel going to make food expensive and starve the poor? The answer is no. Biodiesel is made from oils, while the solids from the feed stock go on to be food for people and animals. The film does not suggest that biodiesel will supply all our food and energy needs. We learn the value of wind, solar, geothermal, and other clean, domestic energy sources in filling the missing pieces of the puzzle that will free us from our dependence on oil.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS FILM. Coming from the perspective of someone who knows very little U.S. energy consumption or the politics surrounding it, I found the film extremely accessible, clear, and captivating. It enlightened me on the big picture (which until seeing this film seemed overwhelming and unapproachable), gave me a sense of hope, and empowered me as the average citizen with simple things I can do to be a part of the solution. I was touched and inspired by FUEL and came away with a whole new outlook on the world and life itself!

Synopsis (from the FUEL website): Most Americans know we've got a problem: an addiction to oil that taxes the environment, entangles us in costly foreign policies, and threatens the nation's long-term stability. But few are informed or empowered enough to do much about it. Enter Josh Tickell, an expert young activist who, driven by his own emotionally charged motives, shuttles us on a revelatory, whirlwind journey to unravel this addiction — from its historical origins to political constructs that support it, to alternatives available now and the steps we can take to change things. Tickell tracks the rising domination of the petrochemical industry — from Rockefeller's strategy to halt ethanol use in Ford's first cars to the mysterious death of Rudolph Diesel at the height of his engine's popularization, to our government's choice to declare war after 9/11, rather than wean the country from fossil fuel. Never minimizing the complexities of ending oil dependence, Tickell uncovers a hopeful reality pointing toward a decentralized, sustainable energy infrastructure. Sweeping and exhilarating, Tickell's passionate film goes beyond great storytelling; it rings out like a bell that stirs consciousness and makes individual action suddenly seem consequential.

This film is amazing, beautiful and important. I believe it's this year's Inconvenient Truth but human and moving as it is Josh Tickell's personal story and currently his life mission. Everyone needs to see this film. It's is so inspiring! I am going to trade in my car for one that runs on bio-diesel because that is something I can do to cause change in this crucial area of the economy, foreign policy, the future of this planet! This film is so motivating that you are going to want to tell everyone you know to see this film and it's so timely considering the election and the current state of affairs. I usually find documentaries the cure for insomnia however FUEL is engaging and entertaining and makes you get off your butt and do something that makes a difference for our world!

FUEL is not only superbly done, with not a break in holding my attention for its entire length, but timely, pertinent and moving as well. I found myself completely engaged in following the flow of identifying the myriad of breakdowns and conspiracies of perfidy, perpetrated on sectors of our country and our planet. FUEL spoke passionately about the damage done on several levels: individual, community, region, country, world. Personal tragedies correlated with tragedies already experienced by groups and populations, and predictably will extend into the future, affecting us in ways which are likely to exceed what's currently known. And those of us who are actually aware of what's occurring are battling the giants who are continuing in the direction they've been going all along, indisputably aware of the cost to people and the environment. But the remarkable aspect of the film is that in the face of all this you're left with an opening for action, a call to stand up and do something that will forward the healing and impact us all. Now that's the way to walk out of the theater. That's what has FUEL be a film that makes a difference.